Have you ever wondered why some people meet the opposite sex so easily? The reason for the exclusion of physical appearance and other external conditions is that there are some people who are not so good conditions are also easy to have a relationship, some people are obviously very good conditions, but also interested in meeting new boyfriends, but just can not carry out a relationship. Have you ever thought that it might have something to do with personal genetics?
There are countless answers to the question, “Why don’t you have a boyfriend/girlfriend yet? The answer to the question of “why don’t you have a boyfriend/girlfriend yet” can be found in a myriad of ways: looks, body type, family, personality, profession ……, all of which can be factors that can tip the scales of our “relationship”. A recent study by Professor Zhou Xiaolin, PhD student Liu Jinting, and postdoc Gong Pingping from the Department of Psychology at Peking University adds a new weight to this scale: the study suggests that small differences in the human chromosome 5-HT1A gene may affect the odds of people being in a romantic relationship.
There is an association between genotype and relationship status
In the study Researchers recruited 579 college students from a university in Henan as study subjects to receive questionnaires. Talking about the reason for choosing university students as the main subjects, Zhou Xiaolin told GoScientific.com, “The university student stage is a stage with strong motivation for love and relatively less social pressure from family, so the association between love status and genes may be easier to be found. And when the environment changes, such as when young people start working, family and social pressures can urge young people to enter into romantic relationships or couple relationships.” He said environmental factors may obscure the influence of genes on relationship status.
In conjunction with the questionnaire results, the researchers analyzed the genomic DNA of the subjects’ hair follicle cells and found that of the 579 subjects, there were 361 students with genotype CC, 182 of whom were in a relationship, accounting for 50.4% of the total number of students with that genotype. Among the 579 subjects, there were 361 students with genotype CC, 182 of whom were in love, accounting for 50.4% of the total number of students with this genotype; 185 students with genotype CG, 72 of whom were in love, accounting for 38.9% of the total number of students with this genotype; and 33 students with genotype GG, 13 of whom were in love, accounting for 39.4% of the total number of students with this genotype. Since the number of GG type is smaller. and the rate of falling in love with GG type was similar to that of CG type, we combined the data of CG type and GG type to improve the statistical test validity. This resulted in a 50.4% and 39% relationship rate for subjects of type CC and type CG/GG, respectively.
“The association between the 5-HT1A gene and relationship status persisted after excluding influences such as height, weight, socioeconomic status, religious beliefs, parenting style, and depressive symptoms. This suggests that the 5-HT1A gene does not simply act on relationship status through factors such as depression.” Zhou said, “In further analyses, we used the intimacy subscale scores of the Adult Attachment Questionnaire as mediating variables, and the mediation analysis showed that attachment style partially explained the association between the 5-HT1A gene and relationship status. We hypothesize that the high rate of attachment in CC individuals may be due to the fact that CC individuals are more cognizant of their emotional state, more likely to be close to others and enjoy their interactions with partners more, and thus more likely to start or maintain a relationship.”
There is not enough evidence to support a genetic link between relationships
However, the results of the current study should not be over-interpreted into what some in the media are saying: “Why are you single all the time? It’s the fault of genes”. The researchers would prefer that people take the conclusions presented in the article with a grain of salt.
That said, the current findings are still informative. “Logistic regression showed that the amount of variation in the log-occurrence ratio of singles explained by the rs6295 locus of the 5-HT1A gene was approximately 1.4%. This suggests that the role of individual loci is relatively weak and that we cannot rely solely on genotype to infer the relationship status of individuals.” For the conclusion that there is still a deficiency, Zhou Xiaolin provided this interpretation to Shell Science People, “However, considering the huge number of genetic loci in humans, the fact that the rs6295 locus can have an explanatory amount of 1.4% indicates that the role of this locus is worthy of attention. This gene is likely to act in concert with other genes to influence the formation and maintenance of romantic relationships to a greater extent.”
Because the effect of a single locus on relationship status is small, it is necessary to collect as large a sample as possible if we want to detect a significant effect of the gene in the study. “Recruiting a large number of subjects and genotyping them is the most difficult thing in the research process.” Zhou said they are currently collecting data at another university to further test the conclusions.
The determinants of harvesting love are not in the genes
Zhou Xiaolin revealed that they will likely expand this research in several directions in the future. “We hope to examine its effects on romantic behavior or intimacy by directly manipulating 5-HT1A receptor activity and even simultaneously examining the degree of activation in relevant regions of the brain. We also hope to examine whether the 5-HT1A gene and intimacy still show significant associations in different religious cultural contexts (e.g., Western Christian culture), in different groups (e.g., homeworkers), and at different ages (e.g., adolescence).” In addition, the researchers hypothesized that the 5-HT1A gene may influence multiple intimate relationship phenotypes, such as peer relationships and couple relationships.
Love is probably one of the most complex emotions in human behavior. There are countless poets and singers who have sung of its beauty, and countless seers and wise men who have explored its mysteries. The exploration and study of love and romantic relationships has been, is, and always will be. Professor Zhou Xiaolin’s research has just begun, and until a complete conclusion is formed, there is no need to put too much weight on the power of a certain gene, whether you have found your partner or not. Beyond the genes and family situation brought to us by our parents, there are more acquired factors that we can and need to change, and those, perhaps, are the key to reaping the rewards of love.
How can you increase the success of your relationship?
In fact, love is something that all humans have always desired. So, regardless of genetic disposition, the opportunity to carry out a relationship is everywhere if one is so inclined. But there are little things we can do to make a relationship go faster and smoother.
First, don’t judge a person on external conditions. Humans are very complex creatures, and external conditions are the result of multiple factors. For example, if he doesn’t dress well, it may be because he doesn’t like to dress up, or it may be due to some other factors. Therefore, it is more reliable to judge a person’s character after in-depth contact.
Secondly, it is most important that we get along well. Many people will make all kinds of demands on each other’s conditions, but in fact, on the other hand, if you can’t get along, it’s not your business how good he is.
Lastly, being proactive will increase the success rate. This point needs no further explanation, right? The woman should be reserved, but not too passive Oh.